Revelations
by Epona3
Summary: SPOILERS THROUGH 406 At the end of 406, I had a million ideas for what could happen next. Here are some of them.
1. Chapter 1

**_If you have not seen all of episode 406, read no further. _**

**_Really. It's going to spoil you. _**

**_At the end of episode 406 - Space (I believe in) - I had a million ideas for how Annie would confront Auggie, and how Auggie would react. Obviously, we will only see one. And the odds are that it won't be the way I imagine it. Though, knowing the writers, it will be a way that I adore. So between now and then, I'm going to share some of my ideas for how Annie might confront Auggie about his not-so-dead-wife. _**

When Annie got back to the car she was shaking, but she couldn't get herself to open the door. She sat on the curb a moment, hoping that Henry wasn't watching. She took a few deep breaths, then stood up.

He was worried for her, sitting in the passenger seat twisting his cane in his hands. She thought about what Henry told her and tried to reconcile that with the man in her car, the one that insisted he come along as a sign of moral support as she confessed to the FBI. He had waited in the lobby at Hoover, but couldn't do the same when they quickly changed focus back to Wilcox. Auggie had kissed her silly before she got out of the car both times. She still tasted him on her lips, even with the bile rising in her stomach.

"Okay." She said under her breath. Then she opened the car door and walked into her third confrontation in the past hour.

Auggie turned toward her at the sound of the door opening. His eyes were wide, his left hand braced on the middle console. He said nothing.

She said nothing.

She put the key in the ignition and pulled out of the parking space. After stopping at the second light, Auggie broke the silence.

"Annie, what happened?"

"I don't know." She said each word curtly.

He gripped his cane tightly and began to tap his knee, but didn't push more. He felt the car take a few turns slightly too fast. Annie was breathing with unnatural regularity.

Finally, she pulled the car to an abrupt stop. "We are aKalorama Park. Let's take a walk."

It was halfway between his apartment and the new apartment for which she had the keys, but hadn't yet visited. She wanted him to know the location, just in case he didn't come back to the car with her, or in case she couldn't stand to look at him after this talk.

Auggie obediently opened the car door, unfurled his cane, and waited for Annie to come around so he could take her arm.

"What's up?" He asked gently.

Annie brushed his arm and walked forward. "When, exactly, did you last talk to Helen?"

Auggie stopped. His face contorted in confusion. "What does this have to do with Henry?"

"Please," she said softly. He thought her voice was on the verge of tears.

"Just before she died." He said softly.

Annie stared at his face. There was no sign that he was holding anything back.

She stood in front of him and placed her hands on the side of his face, staring into his eyes. "No more secrets? You have absolutely told me everything about her?"

"Yes." He said, without hesitation.

Annie dropped her hands from his face and took a step back.

"Annie. Tell me what Henry did." He pleaded, gripping his cane in front of his body.

"He said she's still alive."

If Annie had any doubt as to Auggie's honesty, they disappeared with the color on his face. He practically snarled. "That's not true."

"He assumed you knew." Annie said softly. She stepped back toward him and put her hands on his arms.

"I saw it, Annie. I saw her get gunned down."

"I know." She replied, gently rubbing his arms. Every muscle in his body was tense.

Auggie pulled away, angry. He swung his cane wide and walked away from her until it hit a metal trash can. He took a step closer, then swung his cane hard and furious into the solid object. The pieces held together after the first hit, but metal splinters flew through the air after the second. Feeling the object go limp, Auggie threw it away from the sound of traffic into the grass.

"He's just trying to fuck with us. Annie!" He shouted.

"Everything he has said has been right so far." She replied, hoping that calmness and reason would help.

"Everything he has said has caused nothing but more trouble. All he cares about is making sure we are miserable. We can't let him have that." He clinched his hands in fists at his side, opening and closing them as he faced Annie.

"We won't let him have that." She said calmly.

Auggie swallowed, already regretting the independence lost by taking his emotions out on the trash can. He took three deep breaths before speaking. "I have to talk to Arthur."

The words came out eerily calm, sending shivers down Annie's spine as she stepped forward and touched his arm.

"Should we stop at your apartment for another cane?" She asked.

He moved his hands to behind her head. "Not if you promise to stay with me."

They touched their foreheads together, and he could feel her nod. "Yeah, I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

_**I got up all early this morning, and thought I might go get my coworkers some cronuts with the extra time. Instead, I wrote this and now I'm running late. Let me know what you think!**_

* * *

Auggie woke up to the sound of Annie walking into his apartment. He hadn't intended to succumb to the exhaustion, but he and Annie had gone almost three days without sleeping and he had made the mistake of sitting down to wait for her.

"Hey." She said.

"You're free." Auggie replied with a grin.

"Yeah." Her tone wasn't as happy as it should have been.

"What happened?" Auggie asked, concerned.

Annie sighed and poured herself a glass of water. She took a long drink. "Can we talk about it in the morning?"

"Sure." He replied. He stood and found her in the kitchen. Touching her arm, he moved his hand behind her head and pulled her in for a kiss.

Annie tried to pretend everything was fine, but she was cold in response. Auggie wrote it off as exhaustion. "Come on." He urged, walking toward bed.

Annie slipped off the suit she was wearing and looked at the shirt of Auggie's that she had worn the last time she slept. 1995 High School Wrestling. Had Helen worn that same shirt, when she and Auggie were together? The taste of bile rose in her stomach.

She climbed into bed next to him and let him wrap his arms around her. "Where's my shirt?" He mumbled, already half asleep.

"Too much energy to put it on." She replied. Within moments they were both out until morning.

Annie woke first, the uneasy news from the day before weighing on her. She stared at Auggie while he slept, wondering if it were really possible that he was still communicating with his supposedly dead wife.

She considered trying to find out herself, rather than trusting him to explain. It would be easy to plant a bug on his clothes, and no big deal to follow him. But he deserved better than that.

Before his breathing changed, he opened his eyes. There was a flurry of blinking before he relaxed into an unfocused stare toward the ceiling.

"Something is still bothering you." He greeted.

"Why would you think that?" Annie replied, trying to hide the shock in her voice.

"Call it a blind superpower." He said, his tone somber. He pulled her hair away from her face with his hand. Gently touching her, he continued. "Rossabi gave you 24 hours, didn't he?"

Annie gently shook her head. "Rossabi was bought by Henry."

Auggie pinched his eyes shut and swallowed. He took a very deliberate breath. "I'd rather us be on our way to the Caymans than in his debt."

"I assured Henry that I would not be paying him back."

"So you talked to him." Auggie was back to breathing normally.

"I told him I was done."

Auggie released a breath and gave a small smile.

"And then he told me about Helen."

Auggie's smile grew. "Well, for once he was late in sharing other people's business."

"Your stories doesn't match."

Auggie propped himself up. "I told you the truth, Annie."

She stared at him a moment. "All of it? The story completely, totally, absolutely ends in 2006?"

"What are you getting at?" Auggie's expression bordered between confusion and anger.

"Just tell me Auggie, is there anything about Helen since 2006 that I should know about?"

Auggie's face flickered with emotions. "I don't know. She probably had some missions left unfinished, assets left in the cold that we didn't know about. But nothing that I can think of that Henry would be using to drive yet another wedge between us."

Annie watched his frustration but said nothing. Silence was a powerful interrogation skill.

"Believe me, Annie. If I had any idea what you were trying to pull out of me right now, I would give it to you."

"I believe you." She said softly.

They were sitting up in bed by now, and she took his hands in hers. Auggie was practically frantic, imagining the possibilities. Annie had been cold to him the night before, and his last girlfriend had left him in the same situation: in bed, without warning.

Annie squeezed his hands before speaking. "He told me that Helen is still alive."

Auggie's face became expressionless and his grip on her hand went limp. His gaze that had been darting around the room settled to a spot behind her right ear without any focus. "No." He whispered.

"I believe you, Auggie." Annie said, softly.

"She can't... I saw... They said..."

Seeing the grief on his faced pulled Annie out of any anger or confusion. She leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Tell me exactly what he said." His growled.

Annie recounted her talk with Henry. "I honestly didn't have the energy to fight with you last night, if it came to that. So I wanted to wait until this morning."

"Are we fighting?" Auggie asked.

"Have you been secretly talking to the wife that you said died in 2006?"

"No." He said with absolute certainty.

"Then no." She replied. "I'm so sorry, Auggie." She wrapped her arms around him and they just sat in each other's embrace for a moment.

"Let's get ready for work. I need to make a detour on the way in." He was unreasonably calm.

"Okay."

Annie still wasn't used to looking for the new car. Calder had given the keys to her when he told her about keeping her new NOC.

"_I can't believe that somebody that goes on as many off-book missions as you drives a bright red car." _

"_Not all of us can afford loud sports-cars that cost more than most of our colleague's annual salary." _

"_They make cheap cars in neutral colors." Calder had quipped back. _

"_I'd rather put my money toward tropical vacations with my boyfriend." Annie responded with a smile. _

When she put the key in the ignition, an address that Auggie had sent from his phone displayed on the GPS.

"In the interest of full disclosure, I know this is the address for the Campbells."

"Then hurry up and get me there." Auggie responded. "I have to have a man to man talk with Arthur."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thanks for the awesome reception, guys. These are all a little different, and per the previews, they all end with Auggie "visiting" Arthur. Keep letting me know what you think of the ideas, and if you have any of your own. **_

_**WillyNilly 23 has posted her own version of this concept, be sure to check that out, as well! **_

_**From the previews, I'm 98% certain this one isn't happening. But that's why I'm writing these, to live out the possibilities that the show isn't going to give us.**_

* * *

Annie walked in the DPD and scanned the room. Unfortunately, this got Calder's attention. He waved for her to come his desk before she could talk to Auggie.

"I hear your FBI assistance is no longer needed."

"Yes, they have determined the killer."

"Good. I'm glad to have you back here, under my supervision."

"I'm happy to have that assignment behind me, as well."

"You've gone straight from one case to the next. You don't have a history of decompressing and in the past it's led to you making mistakes. I want you to take the next two days off."

"Thank you, sir."

Annie turned to walk to tech ops but was interrupted by Calder.

"I know that Auggie helped you the past few days, so I'm giving him a day off, as well. Try to catch up on all of your romantic intentions so you can keep it out of the office from now on."

"I'm sorry?" Annie asked, turning back toward her boss.

"His walls are made of glass, Annie. We all could see the two of you in there earlier today."

"Understood," Annie replied, her tone somewhat mocking. This time she succeeded in walking away.

She walked into Auggie's office where he was sitting with his headphones on, but not typing.

"What could you possibly be working on now?" She said.

Auggie turned toward her and smiled. "You're back."

She walked closer and leaned on his desk. "Yeah. So what are you working on?"

"Inner peace." He said as he pushed a couple of buttons and soothing music came from his speakers.

"Then come with me. Calder is giving us a day in bed."

"What? Really?" Auggie sputtered as he took off the headphones and shut down his computer.

"In return, he wants no more signs of affection in the office." She explained.

"I make no promises, there." Auggie replied.

"Well let's at least keep up the act until we get to the parking lot." Annie suggested.

Auggie grinned, took her arm, and followed her out the door.

When they stepped out the door of the building, Annie's demeanor changed. She had put on a good show for Calder and whoever else might have been observing, but she was emotionally and physically exhausted.

"Everything really okay?" Auggie asked, noticing her deflation.

"Yes and no. We have to talk."

"I was afraid you would say that."

Annie stopped and looked at Auggie. "Why? Is there something you were expecting us to need to talk about?"

Auggie pinched his eyebrows. "Not specifically, but you did just get away with murder, so I figured there was something you would need to explain."

"Oh. Yeah. Well I told you Henry got to Rossabi."

"Yes, but last I talked to you, you were about to confront Henry. That scares me more than the FBI."

"It should." She replied. They were standing next to her new car.

"What did he say, Annie?"

"That you still talk to Helen." She replied bluntly.

Auggie looked confused. "Like him in the meadow?"

Annie remembered her own theory on Henry's use of the meadow to remember Jai. "No. Literally. In person."

"That she's alive?" He said with disgust.

"Yes."

"That asshole." He sneered.

"Did you know?" Annie asked, unable to tell if Auggie was disgusted that Henry revealed a secret, or that he would make up this lie.

"What? It's not true, Annie."

She put her hand on his arm. "Okay."

Auggie's eyes were darting around, as though seeking an answer. "Really, Annie. I hope you believe me."

"I do. You are just really calm."

"Because it's not true." Auggie replied.

"Okay," Annie almost whispered. "Let's go home. We both need the rest."

"_You_ are awfully calm." Auggie noted once they were on the road.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just numb to this type of news by now. Maybe I just trust you."

"I don't take that lightly." He replied. "And while I have no doubt that Helen is dead, I just want you to know..."

Auggie took a few deep breaths. Admire reached for his left hand. "... What we have, you and I, is so much more that what she and I ever had."

Annie fought back tears as she drove through the streets to Auggie's apartment. She squeezed his hand again. "Thank you." She said.

They didn't say much more as they parked and walked up to his apartment. Annie stood to the side while Auggie unlocked the door and walked in. Annie followed, ready to change clothes and drink a glass of wine. Her thoughts were interrupted by a female voice.

"Hello Auggie."

Auggie turned toward the voice in his kitchen as Annie pulled the pistol from her purse. She stepped in front of Auggie, half-shielding him from the intruder. She reached behind with her free hand to touch Auggie.

The woman appeared to be unarmed, so Annie risked a glance at the man behind her. His face was white.

"Helen"

"Theresa"

They both spoke her name at once.

"Yes." She replied, staring at the couple in front of her.

"How? Why? Wha..." Auggie sputtered.

"You can put the gun down, Annie. I'm not here to harm you."

Annie lowered the gun but kept it in her hand as she stepped back to support Auggie, who looked like he was about to fall down with shock.

"Why are you here?" Annie asked.

"I wanted to talk to Auggie." She replied.

Annie noticed that Auggie was holding her as tightly as she was holding him. He slowly released his grip and stood up straight. "Okay." He said, confidently.

Helen looked pointedly at Annie, as if expecting the younger woman to excuse herself. Annie returned this look with a glare. "You want me here?" She said quietly to Auggie.

"Give us five minutes." Auggie answered. Then he very deliberately pulled Annie close for a kiss before she slipped out the door.

Annie stopped to catch her breath on the other side of the door. Then, wanting to give Auggie privacy, walked out of the building.

"What the hell?" Auggie asked.

"I'm sorry, Auggie."

He huffed in response.

"You always took it more seriously than I did. I never meant for what we had to be forever."

"So instead of a divorce, you faked your own death? Do you realize what you put me through?"

"I do. I'm sorry."

Auggie clenched and unclenched his fist. "Why are you back?"

"To finish what we started."

"Now? We could have finished it then if -"

"We can't change the past, Auggie. I know you've moved on. Neither of us are the person we once knew. But now is the time to finish what we started."

Helen reached forward and took Auggie's hand. He wanted to pull it away, but the touch brought back so many memories. He wrapped her hand in both of his and closed his eyes. Then she pulled away and walked out the door.

A few minutes later Annie came back to find Auggie leaning forward against the kitchen counter, the depleted bottle of Patron in front of him. She sat a heavy shopping bag on the counter and rubbed his back.

"I figured you might need more tequila."

_**Auggie nodded. "Yeah. But first, I need to talk to Arthur Campbell." **_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I don't promise that each one gets better, and this one comes awfully close to WillyNilly23's story. **_

* * *

When Annie opened the door to his apartment, Auggie was pacing in front of the couch. He looked up at the sound. "You're back."

"Yeah," She responded. Her voice was less than enthusiastic.

"So the FBI?"

"I'm good." She responded.

Auggie made his way to her. "There's still something wrong." He stated.

"I had to talk to Henry, after Rossabi let me go."

Auggie rolled his eyes and turned away. "I swear that if I get within reach of that man, I might kill him with my own bare hands."

Annie pinched her lips and nodded at his words. "He suggested that you might not have told me everything about Helen."

Auggie stopped and turned back toward Annie. "What do you mean?" He asked, his tone serious.

"I mean that you have a very big secret about her that you haven't read me in on."

Auggie thought a moment. "I really don't know what you are getting at. There's plenty about that relationship I haven't told you about. None of which is Henry's business."

Annie swallowed. "Do you have any pictures of her?" Her voice quivered as she asked.

Auggie's expression of confusion was replaced with shock. "I haven't exactly had much use for-"

"Humor me." She interrupted with no sympathy in her voice.

"No, I don't." He answered. "But if it's that important, I can pull up her file in the CIA database."

"Please." The word was barely audible.

Auggie rolled his eyes and walked over to the laptop that he hadn't put away after failing to hack the FBI servers. Within a minute he had pulled up her CIA file and Helen's face was looking back. One glance at the screen, and Annie gasped.

"What?" Auggie was frustrated and confused.

"Swear to me, Auggie. Swear that you haven't had any contact with her since 2006." Her palm dug into his shoulder as she spoke.

"How could I? I watched her die."

"Because this woman is Theresa Hamilton."

It took a moment for Auggie to place the name. "Impossible."

"I have pictures of her, Auggie. With Teo."

"They could be old. They could be doctored."

"I don't think so." There was warmth in her voice as she accepted that Auggie really didn't know.

"This isn't possible." Auggie's voice cracked.

Annie wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I have no doubt that this is the same woman that is in the photos with Teo."

"He would have told me." Auggie countered.

"It's not like you two have had a chance to hang out and catch up on old times."

Auggie bit his lip.

"Oh my God."

"It was just before I read you in. We met briefly. I wanted to confront him."

"You didn't think to tell me about this?" Annie pulled back.

"I talk to people all the time, Annie!" Auggie raised his voice. "I don't know which conversations are going to be relevant. I talked to Teo. I'm telling you now. He said absolutely nothing about Helen!"

Annie stared at Auggie a moment. "Henry said you have been talking to her."

"That is not true."

"But it must mean she's in DC."

Auggie swallowed.

"What am I supposed to think, Auggie?"

"What are you supposed to think?" Auggie retorted. "Maybe you should think that your boyfriend is having a real shitty day."

Annie sat across from Auggie. "I'm sorry. I can't imagine."

"You really believe Henry?" Auggie asked.

"His motives are questionable, but everything he has told me so far has checked out."

"I really thought she was dead, Annie. You have to believe me."

"I do."

"I have to go talk to Arthur."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?"

"You shouldn't come. I will take a cab. I promise to fill you in on _every detail_ when I get back." Auggie got up and gathered his cane and cell phone.

"Nice try," Annie replied. "But I will be with you for this."


	5. Chapter 5

**_We definitely aren't seeing this one, but I'm taking a little bit of what's in the preview and twisting it to have some fun._**

* * *

Annie stormed into the office and went straight to TechOps. She pulled the door shut as Auggie pulled the headphones off. She squatted next to him.

"What's going on?" Auggie asked.

"I'm interrogating you." Annie replied.

"For real, or as foreplay for celebration sex?"

"For real." Annie replied, her cold tone revealing to him how serious she was.

"Okay." Auggie replied, giving her his full attention.

"When, exactly, was the last time you talked to Helen?"

"July 19, 2006, at approximately 900 hours Central European Time." He replied, methodically.

"And that's the truth?"

"Do we need to go to polygraph?" Auggie asked.

"I know damned well you can fool those machines." Annie replied, more lightly. "Log out, we are out of here."

"Now is it time for foreplay?" Auggie asked as he shut down his computer and grabbed his cane.

Annie stood on her toes and whispered in his ear. "You aren't getting laid tonight."

The smile fell from Auggie's face. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just, come on."

Auggie took Annie's elbow and followed her through the bullpen. They made it all the way to the elevators before Calder caught up. "Where, exactly, are you two going?"

"Do we need a hall pass?" Auggie replied.

"Walker, I need a debrief on the FBI investigation."

"I already gave it to Joan." Annie lied.

"I need to talk to you about your new NOC." He added.

Annie sighed. "It's been a really long week. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

Calder glared at the couple before him. "The two of you have a reputation for a stellar work ethic, never leaving early and rarely taking vacations. Now you suddenly want to run out the door at five o'clock?"

"It's six-thirty." Annie replied.

"Fine. Be back at eight tomorrow." Calder said before almost stomping back to the DPD.

"You know he thinks I'm getting laid tonight." Auggie stated once they were in the elevator.

"That's better than the alternative." Annie replied.

"And what, exactly, is this alternative?"

"We have to talk to Arthur."

"About what?"

"Something that Henry told me."

"Which was?"

"I don't want to tell the story twice."

Annie made the drive to the Campbell house in far less time than it should have taken. She turned off the ignition and took a deep breath.

"I hope he's home. Would hate for you to keep me in the metaphorical dark for nothing."

"Yeah." Annie said, less than confident. "Let's do this."

"I'd feel a whole lot better if I knew what we were doing." Auggie said as he got out of the car.

Annie brushed his arm and they walked to the front door. "I'm sorry, Auggie." She said, softly, after ringing the bell.

He gave her a confused look, but the door opened before he could ask anything.

"What are you two doing here?" Arthur asked.

"Henry Wilcox just told me that Helen is still alive." Annie stated, without hesitation.

Auggie's face was pure shock, looking toward Annie.

Arthur simply looked resigned. "I should have known that he would figure that out." He explained.

"What do you mean?" Annie asked. She could tell that Auggie was getting angrier.

"Helen is Theresa Hamilton." Arthur explained. "The pictures that came from Henry, he was DCS when Helen was supposedly killed."

"Supposedly?" Auggie growled.

"I'm sorry Auggie." Arthur said with sincerity.

Without hesitation or warning, Auggie punched Arthur in the face.

"AUGGIE!" Annie shouted, trying to hold him back from causing any more damage. Arthur stepped back into the house, holding his hand over his nose.

"You asshole." Auggie stated.

"It was for your own protection." Arthur replied. His voice slightly altered by the pressure on his nose.

"Bullshit."

"She wanted to go dark. It was her plan all along." Arthur explained.

"Come on, Annie." Auggie said, turning away from the door.

She looked at the trusted former leader in the doorway and back to her boyfriend. Without another word, she led Auggie back to the car.

Neither of them said a word until they were driving away.

"That was hot." Annie finally said.

Auggie composed himself and let a small grin escape. "Your idea of foreplay never ceases to amaze me, Walker."

* * *

_**So, do you think he's getting laid? **_


	6. Chapter 6

Annie had five minutes to consider the news from Henry while she drove to Auggie's apartment. In that time, she decided that it was unlikely Auggie would be hiding something so big from her, especially after his emotional confession the week before. If he was lying to her, still, she wasn't sure she could continue with the relationship. On the other hand, she couldn't imagine ending the relationship that held her together for so long before it was sexual.

She walked up to his apartment and leaned her head on the door before putting in her key. As she rested there, she heard a woman's voice. Her heart stopped.

Quickly, she put her key into the lock. She pulled the door open only to see the door to the emergency exit in Auggie's kitchen swing shut. Without stopping to talk to Auggie, she ran to the emergency exit and pushed it open just in time to see a dark head of hair drop out of view. She was about to run forward when two strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"LET GO OF ME!" Annie shouted as she tried to peel his arms off of her.

"Annie, wait, let me explain." Auggie pleaded, without letting go.

"There's nothing to explain. Henry already told me." She continued to fight.

"Annie, please, I didn't know."

She turned to face him, still trapped close to his body. "Why should I believe you?"

Auggie let go and she stepped away. "Because it's true."

"I thought you were telling me the truth. I trusted that you told me your secrets. Yet I just came home while your dead wife ran out the back door. Give me a reason, Auggie. _Why should I trust you?" _

"Annie, she was here when I got home. It's the first time I have spoken to her since the morning of the day I thought she died in 2006. I promise you."

Annie tried to breath evenly as Auggie impatiently waited for her reaction.

"Please, Annie."

"How many times am I going to have to find out your secrets on my own, Auggie?"

"Annie, I would have told you about this as soon as you got home! You can't be mad that I haven't told you about something that I literally learned about at the same time as you."

Annie leaned against the countertop, trying to clear her thoughts. She stared at Auggie, who looked like he was on an emotional cliff. "It's too coincidental."

"Not from what she told me. Henry was pushing her out of hiding. He's looking for any wedge that he can find, and I don't want to give him that victory. Please, Annie. I know how this looks, and I understand that it looks very bad. Stick with me, just for the evening. Just while I go talk to Arthur."

"Arthur?" Annie asked.

"I really need to talk to Arthur, and I think his answers will help you believe me."

"Fine." She walked straight to the door, not giving him any time to have second thoughts. Auggie quickly grabbed his cane - still assembled from when he got home, and followed.

Neither of them said a word for the drive to the Campbell home. Auggie opened his mouth to start to say something a few times, but no words would come out. Annie was in no mood to hear anything he wanted to say.

"We're here." She said curtly as she turned off the car.

Auggie made no move to get out. "Please trust me, Annie."

"I'm here with you, aren't I?" She asked before opening her door. Auggie did the same, and was comforted when she came around and brushed his hand. He wasn't taking anything about her for granted.

Annie stared at Auggie as she rang the doorbell. His jaw was set, and he looked like he was prepared for battle.

The door opened. "Annie, Auggie, what are you doing here?"

Annie looked at Auggie, expecting him to explain. Instead he just stood there with a look of deep concentration.

"Auggie?" Arthur asked.

Auggie responded by punching him in the face.

"AUGGIE!" Annie shouted, stepping over to him. she wasn't sure if she was going to try to hold him back, or protect him if Arthur tried to reciprocate.

"What the hell was that for?" Arthur asked from just out of reach.

"I know about Helen." Auggie explained.

"Oh, Auggie." Arthur's voice held pity.

"I can't believe you. Playing me like that, in so many ways." Auggie was practically spitting the words.

"You never should have found out, Auggie. She intended to remain dark forever."

"I should have been read-in."

"Why? To compromise her mission? You know damn well that when somebody decides to go that dark they have to cut all connections."

"But she could stay connected to Teo?" Auggie replied.

"He's not exactly in the light." Arthur replied.

"I fucking grieved for her!" Auggie shouted. "I believed what I saw. For the past seven years I accepted that your son was responsible for the death of a woman that I loved, and the whole time it was a theatrical sham put on by the Campbell family. Fuck you, Arthur."

Annie expected to see sympathy, but Arthur only glared back. "I can't help it if you get too emotionally involved."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Auggie growled.

"Exactly what I said. It was a cover marriage, and you ended up treating it like a real lifelong commitment. She never wanted that. She came to me looking for a way out. I hope Annie never has to do the same."

"Leave Annie out of this."

"Then why is she standing right here?" Arthur asked.

"I needed to know the truth." She replied. "Auggie, we should go."

"You're right." He replied, then used his cane to walk back to the car without her help.

"I sure as hell hope you are as into him as he is into you." Arthur said to Annie before she followed.

Auggie was already sitting in the passenger seat when she got into the car. "I hope you are still willing to give me a ride home."

"Yeah." Her voice was soft. He tried not to interpret it as sympathetic.

After they had been on the road a few minutes, Auggie quietly asked "Do you believe me now?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think I broke his nose?" Auggie asked, his tone was serious.

"No. Probably going to turn into a nasty black eye."

"I hope so."

They rode in silence a little while longer. Auggie leaned his head back on the head rest.

"I thought I lost you." He said.

"You came very, very close." Her tone was definitely not sympathetic, but lacked the bite that concerned him so much.

"It's not going to be the same." He said.

"Do you want her?" Annie dared to ask the question that had been bothering her ever since Henry gave her the news.

"No." The answer came quick and strong. "But is it too much to ask that I talk to her? We didn't have much time before you showed up today."

"I don't control what you do." Annie responded as she pulled the car into a parking space.

Auggie clenched the folded up cane in his hand. "You do now. If it means losing you, I won't talk to her."

"I trust you." Annie said.

"I don't take that lightly." Auggie responded.

Annie stared at him. "You're doing pretty well for a guy that just saw a ghost."

Auggie swallowed. "I'm not doing as well as I look."

Annie reached over and took his hand. "You've been here for me through a tough spot the past few days. I'm here for you now."

"Thank you," Auggie replied. He got out of the car and waited for her to walk around.

When she brushed his hand, he used the connection to pull her around and into a kiss. It was a kiss that tried to communicate love, possession, and apologies. He wanted her to know that he appreciated her trust, that he wanted her more than any of his previous loves, and that he wasn't waking any of it for granted. But he couldn't help but notice that, while she didn't turn him away, she didn't respond with the same emotion.

* * *

**_I never noticed the emergency door near Auggie's fridge before. Some people hde asked for some other scenarios. So this was a try at that, while sticking to my feeling that Auggie really doesn't know. _**


End file.
